Venture - Svalbard, Greenland, Iceland - Aug 7-21 As live as we can be!

[LNugent]

Ready for some more info and pictures.  Thanks. 

[highplanesdrifters]

Sorry all. Polar internet issues. Just came out of the pack ice where we were blown away by 3 extremely rare polar bear sightings . One swimming and two with fresh kills. Will post videos soon.  In the meantime how about some ship pictures?  She is amazing and we are in love.

[highplanesdrifters]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[rallydave]

Would very much appreciate pictures of the Veranda suites including all of the differert areas.  Have sailed on Quest and Odyssey and from the pictures I have seen the table in the Veranda Suites on Quest was a table able to be used for computer and eating.

 

Appears Venture onll has a low glass coffee table for eating en suite and that is concerning.  We are booked on Venture for next June Greenland and Iceland and can't wait.

 

Thanks,

[RetiredandTravel]

Looks beautiful, sounds like you are having a great time.  Thanks for the photos, people are very anxious to get photos.  - 4210

[highplanesdrifters]

It's been a whirlwind.  I really need a sea day. 

[highplanesdrifters]

28 minutes ago, rallydave said:

Would very much appreciate pictures of the Veranda suites including all of the differert areas.  Have sailed on Quest and Odyssey and from the pictures I have seen the table in the Veranda Suites on Quest was a table able to be used for computer and eating.

 

Appears Venture onll has a low glass coffee table for eating en suite and that is concerning.  We are booked on Venture for next June Greenland and Iceland and can't wait.

 

Thanks,

Will get you some pics. You will not be disappointed. 

[highplanesdrifters]

24 minutes ago, RetiredandTravel said:

Looks beautiful, sounds like you are having a great time.  Thanks for the photos, people are very anxious to get photos.  - 4210

Lol, you're reading my mind. Haven't had news since Friday. Can't pull up my charts. Is it a breakaway gap?

[billichka]

Awesome photos!  Thank you 👍

[Covepointcruiser]

Great photos?   Did the folks on the expedition team say that polar bear siting were rare?   We luckily, unluckily had a few siting on our last trip to Svalbard.   Luckily our guide was suitably armed as those bears are very hungry!

[rkacruiser]

What awesome photos of the bears with their kills!  I have never seen anything quite like that other than the bears in Alaska with their catches of salmon.  

[worcestergal]

Fabulous photos!  What an amazing experience. Thank you for sharing!

[PhuketPete]

Thanks so much for these photos - amazing!

Can you please let us know the occupancy rate - from your photos it looks deserted - or maybe you were up at the crack of dawn again?

[markandjie]

How stable has the ship been? Have you experienced any rough waters to put the stabilizers to the test?

[galeforce9]

14 hours ago, highplanesdrifters said:

It's been a whirlwind.  I really need a sea day. 

Stunning!  Can I ask if these were from a zodiac and what mm lens you had on, presuming it is full frame?  

[Fletcher]

1 hour ago, galeforce9 said:

Stunning!  Can I ask if these were from a zodiac and what mm lens you had on, presuming it is full frame?  

Me too, those polar bear hunting/dining photos were thrilling to see.  

and @galeforce9are you still lugging heavy equipment around?  I'm never going to do the smartphone thing but I'm tempted by a compact and inconspicuous Leica D Lux 7 for most things on our next cruise on the Sojourn. Saves energy and weight.  But for a Venture trip I guess it might still be the big Canon and long lens.  

Edited August 11, 2022 by Fletcher

[RetiredandTravel]

15 hours ago, highplanesdrifters said:

Lol, you're reading my mind. Haven't had news since Friday. Can't pull up my charts. Is it a breakaway gap?

 

 

Awesome photo's, many thanks.

 

Looks to me like the next resistance is the 200 day MA at 4332, would have liked to see a little better volume but its August.  QQQ's have also broken resistance at a YTD trend line.  Market is hopeful that inflation is on the way down, Treasury yields, credit spreads and some commodity prices substantiate that thesis for now anyway.

 

Enough of this stuff how's the food & booze?

 

Enjoy!!

[Zouave]

What is the “formal night” dress on board?

[LNugent]

Wow. Amazing. I hope we get so lucky as to spot some polar bears. Thanks for posting. 

[Fletcher]

2 hours ago, Zouave said:

What is the “formal night” dress on board?

Hopefully jeans, sweater, binoculars.  

[highplanesdrifters]

19 hours ago, Covepointcruiser said:

Great photos?   Did the folks on the expedition team say that polar bear siting were rare?   We luckily, unluckily had a few siting on our last trip to Svalbard.   Luckily our guide was suitably armed as those bears are very hungry!

We were told that one siting of a polar bear with a kill was rare. To get 3 in one day, 2 with kills insane.

[highplanesdrifters]

11 hours ago, PhuketPete said:

Thanks so much for these photos - amazing!

Can you please let us know the occupancy rate - from your photos it looks deserted - or maybe you were up at the crack of dawn again?

I'm hearing about 190. I'm a crack-a-nooner.  😃 Grabbed pics when we first boarded.

[highplanesdrifters]

Polar Bear pics. I cheated. Sorry I couldn't post that admission yesterday.  Internet dodgy. 

 

The Ship has an amazing mast cam. It's a GSS Cineflex which broadcasts live around the ship and in suites. The suite TVs are large and high quality LEDs. 

 

We were on the bears for a long time 30 minutes to an hour plus each. Amazing experience, but cold. Indoor breaks necessary. For me at least.  Here's where the cheating comes in. I filmed the TV.  But trust me, watching outside with binoculars was beyond amazing. The bears were about  40 to 50 (?) yards away.

[LNugent]

Seabourn providing binoculars?

[highplanesdrifters]

5 hours ago, RetiredandTravel said:

 

 

Awesome photo's, many thanks.

 

Looks to me like the next resistance is the 200 day MA at 4332, would have liked to see a little better volume but its August.  QQQ's have also broken resistance at a YTD trend line.  Market is hopeful that inflation is on the way down, Treasury yields, credit spreads and some commodity prices substantiate that thesis for now anyway.

 

Enough of this stuff how's the food & booze?

 

Enjoy!!

Thanks for the report and keeping things under control. 😃

 

Food and Booze. Quite good to Excellent. Usual Seabourn fare with slightly smaller menus. Chef Ainsley made us a delightful Indian feast last night.

 

Still stuffed from last night we grabbed sushi in the club tonight. Quite the sail away location on the 9th floor. It was nice and quiet up there, but I suspect it will not stay that way.  Sushi was quite good, about what you would hope for on a ship.  

 

Big news....no TK on the ship. Colinade doing Earth and Ocean nights instead. I'm going to miss fried chicken and BBQ rib night.  Fletcher no need to worry about the oh so scary Lobster Thermidor.

 

I've mostly been drinking champagne, wine and vodka tonics. All good. Going to slip into som real cocktails soon. 

 

 

The Ship is quiet as a church mouse. The azipods purr. We often don't realize we are moving until the scenery changes.  The seas have been glass which have made Zodiac transfers a breeze.  One more day in Svalbard and then off to Jan Mayen. Then we'll see how she handles.

 

It really has been a non stop whirlwind, and still trying to catch up on missed sleep. What a slacker I've become.